Download Mexico 2013 Structure of the expedition Week 1: The Mexican

Mexico 2013
Structure of the expedition
Week 1:
The Mexican research project is run in the vast Mayan forests that cover some of the
Yucatan peninsula in Mexico and across the border to Guatemala and form part of
the proposed Meso-American wildlife corridor.
Students spend their first week in the core zone of the Calakmul archaeological
Biosphere Reserve and they will be involved in the following projects:
·
to collect data which form part of a submission under the Reducing Emissions
from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+ scheme) for funding the
protection of the Calakmul forests
·
to determine population density of large mammals to enable creation of
sustainable hunting quotas for buffer zone communities.
·
to assist in the biodiversity surveys of other organisms being completed by
specialists:
o Mist net sampling for birds and learning how to identify birds in the
hand and take morphometric measurements and DNA samples
o Scan search sampling for herpetofauna from forest transects
o Large mammal transect surveys. When a mammal is detected, the
species, number of individuals, distance travelled along the transect
and perpendicular distance of the mammal to the observer will be
recorded.
o Mist netting for bats
o Dawn point counts for birds
o Spotlight surveys for reptiles. Species encountered will be identified
and the main identification features explained.
The teams will spend half of their time at base camp in the archaeological zone
of Calakmul and half of their time at one of the more distant field camps.
While in the archaeological zone, students will complete a day-long course on the
Ancient Maya that includes a guided tour of the ruins.
Week 2 - Akumal
The second week of the expedition will be run from the marine research site
operated by Operation Wallacea in Akumal. During this week, the students will
mainly be completing PADI Open Water Diver training or the Caribbean reef ecology
course (if already dive certified)
Other surveys that students can get involved include:
·
determining the annual abundance and distribution of turtle nesting sites and
abundance and health of juvenile turtles in the sea grasses of Akumal Bay.
·
assisting with water quality assessment of Yal Ku lagoon
The importance of Akumal
Akumal is a small coastal town located approximately 1.5 hours drive south from the
major tourist destination of Cancun. Akumal is formed mainly by bays, beach zones,
and different marine ecosystems including the coral reef and the permanent
presence of charismatic species such as sea turtles, fish and other rare species.
The name Akumal literally means “home of the turtles” in Maya. It earned this name
due to the numerous turtle nesting sites along the bays located in the Akumal area
and due to the permanent presence of juvenile turtles in the sea grasses just off
shore. There are seven species of sea turtle in the world, all of which are either
threatened or endangered.
Three species can regularly be found around Akumal. Local beaches are nesting
ground for two of these species: the Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta Caretta) and the
Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas).
Threats to the turtle population
Although Akumal itself is a very small town, there are a number of private residences
in South Akumal and an enormous all inclusive hotel called Bahia Principe that have
over 2000 rooms. As a result of these developments and a lack of control of the
number of tourists visiting the reefs, the stretches or coral reef located in south
Akumal are extremely damaged or dead and beach erosion has drastically reduced
the number of suitable nesting sites for the turtles.
However the reefs further out to sea and between Akumal bay and half moon bay
remain in good condition and all the beaches that do not fall within the hotel
boundaries remain prime turtle nesting sites.
New development plans in Akumal
The entire coastal ecosystem from the lagoons, beaches, sea grasses and reefs are
all likely to be completely destroyed by new development plans to build 25,000 new
homes in the Akumal area on the other side of the federal highway. The major
problem with these development plans is that they do not include any waste water
treatment. Without adequate waste water management, each of the 25,000 homes
will empty their waste water directly into the underground river systems that go into
Yal Ku Lagoon and out to sea. Water contamination of this magnitude will almost
certainly kill any remaining sections of coral reef.
Reducing the effect of the new development plans
After considerable lobbying, the state of Quintana Roo is now willing to receive
advice on ecologically sensitive town planning in order to ensure the survival of the
coastal ecosystem.
In order to do this, baseline data relating to water quality in the lagoon and reefs,
biodiversity of the reefs, the turtle population and beach erosion are required.
Variation in these environmental factors in relation to proximity to hotels and
residences will provide evidence of the impact improperly managed tourism and
human developments on the coastal ecosystem. In addition, long-term monitoring
protocols of these factors need to be put in place to ensure that any future
developments do not worsen conditions. If development in the area is managed
sustainably then the beaches, turtles and reefs will remain intact in the long-term
benefitting coral reef conservation and generating millions of dollars of tourism
income.
Opwall will be involved in collected this essential data, in order to protect the reefs
and turtle population.